Hana's Suitcase

Series: The National
The National produced a documentary based on CBC journalist Karen Levine's book Hana's Suitcase: A True Story. The book depicts a Japanese school teacher, Fumiko Ishioka, who decides to use the Holocaust as an educational tool. Using the suitcase of Hana Brady, a young girl who was sent to Auschwitz from the Terzen camp in Czechoslovakia, Ishioka teaches children about the horror of war and encourages peace. Levine meets Ishioka and Hana's brother, George, who survived Auschwitz because he had skills the Germans wanted. Levine records their stories and the trio speak to school children around the world to try to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.